Richard Wiley Receives 2015 Ed Meese Award

  Washington, DC, March 23, 2015    — Wiley Rein Chairman Richard E. Wiley was honored on March 20 by the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA), which presented him with the 2015 Ed Meese Award. Mr. Wiley was selected for the prestigious award—RNLA’s highest honor— in recognition of his efforts to uphold the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. The award is named after the 75th United States Attorney General.

Mr. Wiley co-founded Wiley Rein in 1983 and heads the 80-attorney Communications Practice, the largest in the country. RNLA noted that as chairman, commissioner, and general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the 1970s, he was a leading force in the agency’s efforts to foster increased competition and lessened regulation in the communications field.

He also chaired the commission’s Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service from 1987 to 1995, a period that led to his being dubbed the “father of high-definition television.” Mr. Wiley received an Emmy Award for this important work in leading the development of the nation’s digital television transmission standard.

Last year, The Broadcasters Foundation of America honored Mr. Wiley with the Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award. His numerous other recognitions include the Library of American Broadcasting’s Giants of Broadcasting Award (2013), The American Lawyer’s Lifetime Achiever Award (2012), the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame Award (2009), and the National Association of Broadcasters’ Distinguished Service Award (2002).

Previous recipients of RNLA’s Ed Meese award include former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former White House Counsel Fred Fielding—a former Wiley Rein name partner.

 

This year’s RNLA reception honoring Mr. Wiley was preceded by a panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Wiley, with FCC Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly.